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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Opium is one of the world's oldest drugs, and its derivatives morphine and codeine are among the most used clinical drugs to relieve severe pain. These prototypical opioids produce analgesia as well as many undesirable side effects (sedation, apnoea and dependence) by binding to and activating the G-protein-coupled micro-opioid receptor (micro-OR) in the central nervous system. Here we describe the 2.8 A crystal structure of the mouse micro-OR in complex with an irreversible morphinan antagonist. Compared to the buried binding pocket observed in most G-protein-coupled receptors published so far, the morphinan ligand binds deeply within a large solvent-exposed pocket. Of particular interest, the micro-OR crystallizes as a two-fold symmetrical dimer through a four-helix bundle motif formed by transmembrane segments 5 and 6. These high-resolution insights into opioid receptor structure will enable the application of structure-based approaches to develop better drugs for the management of pain and addiction.

Crystal structure of the micro-opioid receptor bound to a morphinan antagonist.,Manglik A, Kruse AC, Kobilka TS, Thian FS, Mathiesen JM, Sunahara RK, Pardo L, Weis WI, Kobilka BK, Granier S Nature. 2012 Mar 21. doi: 10.1038/nature10954. PMID:22437502^[1]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.